The air in the void world was completely still. Ash drifted slowly through the dark sky, and the ground beneath them was cracked, broken, and bleeding. Renjiro forced his eyes open, every muscle in his body screaming in agony. He looked ahead, and the sight made his breath catch in his throat.
The Shadow Lord, Ignis, stood over the rubble with a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "So, my old enemy," Ignis said, his dark voice echoing across the wasteland. "You are finally here."
Kael looked back at him. His face was like carved stone, and his voice was ice-cold. "Yeah. An old grudge never dies."
Ignis stepped back, casually glancing around the ruined battlefield while dust swirled around his heavy boots. "Oh... what a terrifying shockwave." He turned his gaze back to Kael, his smile widening with twisted amusement. "By the way, you've grown much stronger since we last met."
Kael did not look at him. His eyes scanned the dark surroundings, searching for hidden threats in the mist. "Shadow Lord—" Kael began.
"Call me Ignis," the Shadow Lord interrupted, his voice dripping with pure malice. "We are close enemies, Kael. Use my name."
Kael's expression remained blank. "Hmm... Ignis. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you have."
Ignis chuckled, a low, sinister sound that filled the empty wasteland with dread. "Tell me, do you know what a Shadow Monarch is?"
Kael nodded slowly, his body tense. "I do."
Ignis's eyes gleamed with absolute cruelty. "Then I have a gift for you. A gift so precious, it will tear you apart."
Kael narrowed his eyes, repeating the word with suspicion. "Precious?"
"Shadow Army!" Ignis roared. He raised his hand high toward the dark sky. "Come forth!"
The ground trembled violently as deep cracks opened in the earth. Pitch-black mist surged upward from the soil, swirling and thickening until it quickly solidified into two distinct figures. Kael looked at their faces, and his heart shattered into pieces. His eyes widened in pure horror.
Ignis watched Kael's pale face and began to laugh maniacally. "Adrian Redgrave and Elara Redgrave... are they your parents, Kael?"
Tears instantly blurred Kael's vision. He choked on his own breath, crying out in absolute despair. "Mom! Dad! It's me! I'm Kael!"
But there was no light in their eyes. They were hollow shells, their souls completely bound to the darkness. Adrian turned his lifeless gaze toward Ignis. "Any orders, Master?"
"Kill him," Ignis commanded.
Adrian did not hesitate for a single second. He sprinted toward Kael, a dark, shadowy sword materializing in his hand. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
Slash!
Warm, crimson blood splattered across the air, covering Kael's face in red droplets. He froze, waiting for the sharp pain, but the pain never came. Instead, a fragile figure stood right in front of him. Sara had thrown herself before the blade.
"Sara!" Kael screamed, his voice cracking with pure agony.
Sara's lips trembled violently. Her hands shook as blood poured rapidly from the deep wound in her chest. She looked up at Kael and forced a weak, painful smile. "Kae-l... you sa-ved me before... so now... I sa-ved y-you."
Her strength vanished, and her body collapsed forward into the dust.
"Renjiro! Take her!" Kael shouted desperately, his mind completely breaking. "Why? Why does something wrong always happen to me?!"
Renjiro did not waste a single second. He ignored his own severe injuries and immediately awakened a dark shadow beneath Sara. "Go to Earth, as fast as possible!" Renjiro ordered the shadow. "Do not let her die!"
The shadow expanded like a black puddle, swallowing Sara's body safely before rushing away into a tearing dimensional portal. Kael watched the portal close completely, leaving him alone with his fury.
Slowly, he raised his shaking hand and wiped the warm blood from his face. The grief in his eyes vanished, replaced by an abyssal, terrifying coldness. A suffocating pressure exploded from his body, and the air grew incredibly heavy. The entire dimension began to tremble under his absolute wrath.
Kael murmured two words. "Broken Soul."
In that instant, his brilliant golden eyes changed into a deep, bottomless, pure black. His emotions faded rapidly, leaving his face completely blank within seconds. Then, blood started flowing from his eyes, his mouth, and his ears, staining his pale skin red.
Ignis smirked, looking unimpressed. "Are you gonna fight?"
Kael moved instantly. He crossed the distance too fast for the eye to follow, suddenly standing directly in front of Ignis. Ignis looked into those black eyes from close up, and for the first time, a chill ran down his spine.
The shadow army rushed forward to attack, but Kael did not even look at them. He activated his Infinity Barrier. The dark weapons slammed into an invisible wall, unable to touch him.
Kael raised his arm to the side. A small dimensional circle formed in the air, and Kael reached inside the glow to pull out a sharp Katana. He held the hilt tightly. For a brief moment, a change occurred. One of his eyes turned back to normal, the blood vanished from that side, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Renjiro opened his mouth to shout, but before he could speak, the eye snapped back to pure black. The blood started flowing once more.
Kael struck, his blade moving like a flash of lightning to cut Ignis's neck cleanly. But the head did not fall. It stayed in place as green lightning crackled around the wound, knitting the flesh back together instantly.
Ignis smirked. "I am immortal."
Kael did not answer. He cut Ignis into pieces, his blade blurring in the air. The severed pieces shivered on the ground, then pulled back together until Ignis stood perfectly whole again.
A disordered, hollow sound came from Kael's throat. "You will die."
Ignis started laughing loudly, his whole body trembling with amusement. "Are you serious? How will you kill an immortal?"
Kael answered with a brutal punch, the sheer force sending Ignis flying sideways into the rubble. As Ignis crashed into the rocks, a desperate cry broke Kael's focus.
"Kael!!!" Renjiro shouted from the distance.
Kael turned his head and saw that Renjiro was trapped by the shadow soldiers. White blood covered his mouth, a heavy bruise marked his cheek and forehead, and his face was badly swollen. Kael rushed toward the army, beating them down with his bare punches until the shadow soldiers shattered under his fists.
Ignis stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth, his smirk returning. "Elara! Go."
Elara moved toward Kael, swinging her hand backward as a bright light glowed behind her, forming a long stick in her grip. She attacked him immediately using a special technique: Infinity Breaking.
A loud cracking sound echoed through the void as Kael's absolute Infinity Barrier broke. His own parents had shattered his ultimate defense. The shock hit Kael hard, causing his black eyes to fade slightly as the overwhelming power cooled down. He looked at his mother and did not dare to move against her.
Kael smirked weakly, looking back at his friend. "Renjiro... go and save Sara."
Renjiro tched in frustration, hating to leave Kael alone, but he had no choice. Using his remaining mana, he switched places with his distant shadow and vanished from the battlefield in an instant.
Ignis looked at the empty, ruined world and sneered. "Now this void world will finish."
Kael started laughing, a mad, wild sound that grew louder and louder until it filled the entire crumbling dimension. While laughing, he spoke two heavy words. "Soul Conversion."
Kael's body began to change violently. Two massive wings erupted from his back—one pitch black and the other pure white. His left eye fully converted into a glowing purple, while sharp horns grew from his head beneath a golden angel halo.
Ignis stopped laughing, completely shocked by Kael's new form. Kael yelled into the void, "Replica!"
A magnificent sword shined with brilliant light, materializing firmly in Kael's hand.